SOAP Symposium

Study of Open Access Publishing.
What publishers offer, what researchers want.
Facts for publishers, funding agencies and libraries.

The SOAP project (Study of Open Access Publishing), describes and analyses the open access publishing landscape as well as exploring the risks and opportunities of the transition to open access publishing for libraries, publishers and funding agencies. The project partners would like to invite you to its closing event

This event will present the final results of SOAP. Definitive facts about open access publishing with in depth analysis, will foster a lively debate between key stakeholders who will elaborate on these groundbreaking findings.

The audience for this event are publishers (open access and not) (re-)considering their business models, libraries considering financial steps for the support of open access, funding agencies and policy makers evaluating options for open access publishing. And of course anyone with a keen interest in this transformative disruption in scholarly communication.

Over its two-years duration, the project has performed the most detailed study so far of the current supply and success of gold open access journals, publishers and models, spotlighting the amazing difference between large and small publishing houses and learned societies, licensing practices and business models. (Preliminary results are available).

The project performed a comprehensive survey of opinions and attitudes on open access of 50, 000 researchers across all disciplines and around the world. This largest survey to date shows that “one size does not fit all”, and there are myriad factors that libraries, publishers and funding agencies have to consider to trace a path through these shifting sands (Preliminary results are available)

By the time of the workshop, the “demand” for open access publishing and the “supply” will have been further analysed with further input from leaders in the field, presenting a picture of open access, and well established facts, on which to base decisions shaping the scholarly communication of the future.

The event will also celebrate the release in the public domain of the data collected by the SOAP survey, with a hands-on workshop for those interested in mining this valuable resource for further re-use.